


Chanur's Odyssey

by Senji



Category: Chanur Series - C. J. Cherryh
Genre: Bechdel Test Pass, Gen, Misses Clause Challenge, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-20
Updated: 2014-12-20
Packaged: 2018-03-02 09:04:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2807042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Senji/pseuds/Senji
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hilfy is back in the groove of regular shipping, but the han has other ideas.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chanur's Odyssey

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kainosite](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kainosite/gifts).



> With thanks to my beta {redacted} and to {redacted} who organised a couple of most helpful writing evenings.

"I'm terribly sorry," said the Mhur stationmaster, sipping her tea, "but we can't accept the Syrsyn company shipment; they entirely finished their relocation to Chur's world two months ago."

Hilfy frowned slightly, causing the statiomaster to fall over her words as she continued "We have been left a bond to cover reasonable costs of shipping it on… and I could arrange you a prefered shipping status for our Anuurn-bound cargoes."

"Wouldn't it be possible to warehouse it here until the next ship that's going that way? My crew have been looking forward to shore leave on Anuurn; it has been a very long trip here."

Ten jumps from Annan'uhu on the far boundary of kif and mahendo'sat space, practically stringing the jumps with just a brief stop at Urtur to refuel and stock up on ration packs.

"Also we were promised a bonus for quick delivery, which we made, at the cost of some fur and body tone."

The Mhur relaxed slightly, that she could deal with, "Well, we can certainly arrnage to disburse that; the contract is on file here," she sipped again, "and whilst Nahar station is hardly the recreational centre of hani space I can at least offer to put a guard on your airlock for a couple of days and let your crew have a total stand down to relax."

"Also, I'll send over a crate of tea and a can of fresh fruit from Anuurn that came in on the last ship, and if you would do me the honour then I'll see you and your crew for dinner with some of the station staff."

* * *

"Hallan! Chihin! We're keeping the cans for Hallan's sister; get the rest of the cans unloaded and close up; meeting in the Galley in half an hour. Oh, and we're expecting a couple of station security who are going to be watching over our 'lock, but make sure the cameras are running outside and in the lower corridor."

Half a hectic hour later Hilfy was warming her hands on a mug of gfi as Tarras collapsed onto the end of the bench muttering about the sticky door in the anterior cold hold.

"So," she started "I have good news and bad news. The good news is that from now you can consider yourself on leave for the next two days, and the stationmaster is treating us to dinner tomorrow."

"Sons!" interrupted Chihin, "what does the bad news have to be to pay for that?"

"The bad news is that we have to take those remaining cans on to Chur's World".

Hallan's ears perked up a bit at that; "And, yes Hallan, that means you will probably get to see your sister after all."

"I guess we won't be getting back to Anuurn for spring then," Tarras sighed, "maybe next time."

"With the size of the bonus the Mhur is giving us to keep them out of her warehouses we can make it a long visit when we get there."

Chihin smirked; "Has anyone told station about Hallan?"

* * *

Nahar point was a brown dwarf system so cool and light that it hadn't even managed to keep hold of most of its stellar dust, which made it one of the best possible experiences for a tired captain drifting out of pleasant dreams about the orchards of Chanur. It had been surveyed by the _mahe_ about 5 decades ago, but other than a possible connection that the Shsto were never going to let either the hani or the _mahe_ use, it had been a dead end until Chur found the systems beyond.

"Priority! Priority! I have a hyper footprint at 160 degrees, that's the Tle Mhos direction!"

Hilfy started, all thoughts of sleep gone, "How long until we get readings from that?" she asked as her claws automatically sought the jump-drive controls, "dump in ten seconds…"

"On our planned route, about two hours before we reach their emissions"

The ship shuddered, dumping velocity, and Hilfy blinked away leaves from her board. "We're intertial on this vector for half an hour before we have to line up for the next jump. Lock your boards and get what you need. Tiar stay there, I'll relieve you in ten minutes; shout if that ship does anything."

"Aye Captain. She's not dumped yet, so I can't tell what course she's on"

An hour and a long hard course correction later Fala announced "Priority! I've got a signal from that ship, putting it on speakers."

An instantly familiar warbling sound filled the bridge.

"Knnn! Do we have any idea what their course is?"

"I don't think they can be going anywhere other than Nahar, but I've never heard of knnn this deep in our space."

"Me either, except to Anuurn of course. We're going to be going to jump in about another hour, is it going to be able to catch up before then?"

"Not even if they've turned since we last saw them. The fastest knnn ship we've seen would be a few minutes behind us."

"Right," Hilfy thought briefly … better to be safe than messed up in what passed for knnn politics, "sound the acceleration warning; lets go to full thrust in 10 minutes and get to our jump point as soon as possible. And watch out when we get to the other side, even if it doesn't turn until we've left that ship could probably overjump us."

* * *

"Priority! The knnn's dumping!"

"Priority! I've got a red light on the primary motivators. Backups are green."

"Go to jump with that. Hallan, you take damage control on the far side, I want to know if anything else is dodgy."

_Dappled light through the forest canopy, damp soil underfoot, and a light breeze in the air …_

_… bringing the sharp ammonia taint of kif to her nose and their gutteral sounds to her ears …_

_… running … a short drop … roll into a small cave …_

_… to find a kif there, covering the door with his gun …_

Emergence. Trying not to scream on the bridge. An alarm interrupting the scream.

"Priority! Primary jump motivators all out! Secondaries orange. Tertiaries green."

Hands moving so slowly in the familiar patterns, stiffness overriding urgency.

"Priority! We've arrived too close to the station!"

"Dumping!"

Dump _… Click … Misfire … Diving backwards …_

"Priority! Secondary motivators out!"

Nearly falling out of her chair Hilfy grabbed control of comms, "Mayday! Mayday! _Chanur's Legacy_ approaching with jump malfunction. Trying to dump, next dump in five minutes.

"Hallan, are the tertiaries going to hold?"

"Tertiaries still green. I … think we're fine. I … hope".

"We have beacon data. One ship on station, _Syrsyn's Gamble_. No sign of the knnn."

"Coming up to second dump"

Dump _… kif holding her arms … dinner skittering around … passing out …_

"We're still alive Captain! Tertiaries holding!"

"We've got communications wavefront from the station, asking if we're okay."

"Tell them we'll be doing our third dump in … four minutes."

" _Gamble_ is launching, in case we need help."

"They'll never catch us unless this dump works."

"Here's hoping…. Five, four, three, two, one, DUMP!"

_Watching the kif torture Tully, not with knives, but with words … waiting in the Pride's crew area, her stomach acid … having the kif under _her_ gun, and not firing … Tahar's Moon flying off into deep space …_

Relief waring with stress as reality impinged, red lights everywhere.

"Priority! Jump drive failed!"

"Priority! We're slow enough that we should be able to stop on our own drive, but the computer has us locked out right now."

"Chihin, sweet talk the computer into submission; Hallan, see how many of those red lights you can clear!"

"Attacking the computer with the number 17 wrench, aye!"

"I think they're mostly false alerts from the drive failure; should be clearing now…"

* * *

The Legacy was towed into dock by a couple of skimmers, twelve hours of agonising wait. Trying to sleep; clean; fix the electronics that could be reached; and, for Hallan, an hour long conversation with his sister in station central while nothing critical was happening.

Hilfy got eight hour's sleep, partly at the insistence of the crew and partly long habit from _The Pride_ , and a shower and was appreciating the familiar feeling of her best station outfit as she waited in the lower hallway for docking to complete.

Waiting on the dock were a figure she'd not seen for years, and one she'd vainly hoped never to see again.

"Tahar, Mahn, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

Tahy smiled, that annoying smile Hilfy had always hated, "The _han_ wishes to hire your ship; and you'll be glad to know that the contract will cover your repairs."

"Where to now, Tahy, we've already gone across most of the Compact with this cargo; and my crew are long overdue for shore leave?"

"Not here on the dock," the dour Tahar interrupted, "can we come inside Chanur?"

"If you're happy to come up to the galley; the decision will have to go to the whole crew anyway."

* * *

A day later the crew were still arguing about the proposal, while hani and _mahe_ techs checked and rewired systems around them. Consensus was slowly emerging that they couldn't turn their back on it without hurting Chanur, but…

"Dammit, not going to get back to Anuurn for next spring either."

"Look on the bright side, Tarras, we might get back for the _following_ spring."

"Chihin!"

Meanwhile there were more critical questions to be answered;

"So, Tahar, this contract; which I must say makes some stsho works I've seen look short; has a section covering requirements for, and provisioning of, ship modifications at the cost of the _han_ ; but it doesn't specify what they are?"

"Mostly just fuel lines into a couple of your holds, to increase your operating range, a telescope and gravitometer that can fold out of another hold to verify possible jump routes, and finally a modification to your transponder so you can run silent."

"That's illegal!"

"Since when have Chanur cared for legality?"

Hilfy glowered at her, biting back a comment about Tahar's own reputation, "Since I became clan head; whatever you might think about previous administrations."

"Well," she replied, stepping backwards, "well all the other governments, or what passes for them, do it. You'll note that the contract makes the Legacy officially a hunter ship for the _han_ for the duration. And, with three of us here, we are quorum for a committee of the _han_ ; which is more oversight than most other hunter ships have."

_Except for the kif_ , Hilfy thought, biting her tongue. "Why do we need that?"

"If you'd _read_ the contract…" Tahar started

"I have, all eight hundred pages of it."

" _If_ you'd read the contract you'd know that while the intent is to avoid stsho-claimed systems the only evidence of what they're actually using is from the tc'a, via the mahendo'sat; and the backup routes run straight through stsho space.

"The _han's_ political analysts believe that if we pass through without a transponder on they'll initially identify us as a methane ship, and that they'll stick to that story rather than admit that it was us later."

Tahar held up a hand to forestall the inevitable, "no, I dont' believe that either, but if we manage to make a connection with the humans on this side of space then that will shift the balance and either we'll be able to get concessions from the stsho, or we'll be able to find a better bypassing route between us."

"Leaving," Hilfy interjected, "a massive political problem for the _han_." _Or for Aunt Py,_ she didn't say, remembering Tahar clan's opinion of Pyanfar.

* * *

The Legacy was just completing final system checks when station relayed to them an incoming contact.

"Captain, we've got a ship coming in from Mhaany."

"That's the way we're leaving. I think we should wait and see if they have any news for us, _ker_ Mahn?"

"Yes, I agree, I didn't think there were supposed to be any ships at Mhaany right now. Do you have any idenfication?"

Chihin turned to face Tahy, "System entry is a faster than light signal so it got to us effectively instantly; anything else we'll have to wait for light speed, which will be about three hours from now."

Tahy's ears flattened slightly, but she turned politely to face the spacer, "Thank you."

System tests are boring at the best of times, and with a non-spacing clan leader at the observer's chair on the bridge it was anything but the best of times; so it was a tense three hours before a signal arrived, in mahendo'sat.

" _Mahijiru_ calling station and ships in dock, we are the last ship out of Mhaany for a while. Unexpected sunspot activity has made any space travel hazardous; station staff are sheltering in station core."

Hilfy turned her ears towards Tahy, who asked "Can you get the Captain to visit once he's docked?"

"Of course I can. Fala, can I have a channel to _Mahijiru_ please?" She grinned and turned back towards her board to address _Mahijiru_ , "Goldtooth, you old devil, where have you been? I've not seen you since Anuurn, come around to the _Legacy_ once everything's stable on your ship, and we'll have tea and talk about old times."

Goldtooth was older than when Hilfy had last seen him, but he was still the same mahe; with his teeth all glistening in the harsh lighting of the dock. She dircted him into the lower deck galley where Tahy and Tahar were waiting, "so, what brings an old thief like you to the back of hani space Ana?"

"Working with the _han_ a? Want make trade with human and hani, human and mahe."

"Ismehanan-min has been helping us chart the points beyond Mhaany; his technician was the one who pinned down the human signals that brought us out here. He's also organised our backup plan," she looked at him sternly and he wilted a bit.

"Going to make big trouble when stsho find out about this," pulling a data folder out of a pouch on his belt, "but _ker_ Hilfy knows I always keep my promises, a? It's all in here; I'll have to accompany you as far as the fuel stash, then my commitment to the _han_ will be done and I can go home, retire maybe?"

Hilfy surpressed a grin at the idea that Ana Ismehanan-min would ever "retire" from manipulating things and reached for the folder, taking it before Tahy could. She flipped through to the print summary and sighed.

"So, we're going to Tle Mhos, I'd been hoping we could avoid stsho space."

* * *

_Panicked maintanence at Kura Point on_ The Pride _under acceleration._

Tle Mhos, bright white light, beacon chattering … in knnn? … cancelling automated alarms, running without a transponder, breaking compact law. Not dumping.

"Goldtooth's behind us Captain"

Not dumping, tearing water and food packets off the boards and gulping the contents, minor course correction, passing a gas giant surrounded by matrix communications, and continuing back out of system…

"Priority! There's a knnn following us. I think it might be the same one we saw at Nahar Point; computer says it matches our recording of that one."

"Priority! The knnn is talking to us, direct beam … in something like tc'a?"

hani | hani | ? | human | ?  
---|---|---|---|---  
hani | _mahe_ | ? |  stay | ?  
hani | ? | ? | ? | ?  
knnn | hani | knnn | human | ?  
go | go | go | go | go  
knnn | hani | knnn | human | ?  
human | _mahe_ |  knnn | knnn | tpehi  
  
"I can't make any sense out of it and neither can the computer."

Hilfy thought, "I think it's telling us that it's going with us to the humans, and maybe that it's going to meet us again at Tpehi. I don't think it understands tc'a any better than we do though.

"Mahn, Tahar, does the _han_ know anything about knnn interference?"

"The _han_ can't talk to the knnn, and even Naur can tell that that's true," Tahar looked as if she wanted to spit, but didn't want to insult Hilfy by doing it on the bridge, "I've never even heard of a knnn talking anything other than knnn though"

" _The Pride_ dealt with one that kidnapped a tc'a to translate for it. I think they might be learning. We have to commit to jumping or not in the next few minutes; I don't think the knnn is warning us off, so unless someone has a good argument we're going…"

_Huddling with Tully in a black and grey kiffish ship, with no drugs for him as they went through jump, and with a constant Kk'kking in the back of her hearing._

* * *

Goldtooth's fueling point was in orbit around a small planet floating in the dark of space; just three half-derelict ships held loosely together with cables. They spent three days shift on and shift off in suits, always oppressed by the sheer darkness outside, loading cans onto the _Legacy_ ; filling up to the point that they should have been leaving Mhaany.

On the fourth day they put the _Legacy_ on automatic and, secure in the knowledge that _Mahijiru_ was watching, slept for half a day and then organised a meal made out of everyone's favourite dishes - even Tahy who wasn't a regular cook turned out to know Pyanfar's secret family recipe for sticky gfi pudding - food for the next few jumps would be ration packs and hastily prepared snacks.

It was with rather lighter hearts that they returned to planning as they cleared away the dishes in the galley.

"So, Captain," Chihin asked, "which way are we heading out of Tpehi?"

"Tiar, can you prepare all the options? Including back here, but I don't expect to use that, and we definitely won't be going to Llyene."

Tahy frowned, "I still don't understand why we're not going via Llyene, it would be the shortest route."

"Right," Hilfy sighed, "I forget how little the planetbound understand about our neighbours. Basic galactic politics; the compact only exists because the stsho wanted to keep their homeworld safe, and so provide incentives to their neighbours not to violate their space. Also they almost certainly have secrets we don't know; and if there's going to be anything that could cause us problems then it'll be there."

"And," Tahar interrupted, "if the stsho discover a hani ship at Llyene it won't matter if they can stop us; they may well just cancel all contact with the _han_ and close trade down."

* * *

A straightforward passage to Tpehi, odd really that the stsho had never discovered the dark point that Mahendo'sat insatiable curiosity had. 

_Astronomy on the hill overlooking the big house in Chanur; showing her father how to use the telescope._

"System's full of ships", overridden with another voice, shouting, 

"PRIORITY! Ship less than a kilometer off our bow!", 

collision alarms blaring, cancelled automatically with the others,

"Priority! Signal from the other ship, it's our knnn again…"

hani | stsho | stsho | knnn  
---|---|---|---  
knnn | here | here | knnn  
go | stay | stay | go  
  
"…and a burst of nonsense."

"It's not nonsense," argued Hallan, hands running over the board, "it's knnn navigation instructions. I think they want us to cut our engine and maintain our course."

"Do it; we can't argue with them."

_Seeing a kif ship vanish from scan, herded by knnn &hellep_

"Mother of a son, PRIORITY, we've been short-jumped, we're on the other side of the system"

"Knnn's signalling again, a large burst of navigation data, do we trust it Captain?"

"Do we have any choice? Tiar?"

"Nothing on Goldtooth's map in this direction, Captain, we'd have to stop and turn around, and the stsho would intercept."

"Does the _han_ trust the knnn? Chanur votes yes."

"Mahn votes yes, we have no other option."

"Tahar, Tahar abstains. I don't like it, but I can't argue against."

"Load it into the nav system, Hallan"

"Aye Captain, looks like a three jump sequence. I think the second system is shsto and the third is knnn."

"Fala, Tiar, lock your boards and go back to the galley; grab all the ration packs you can get before we jump in ten minutes. Chihin, I want to record as much navigation data as possible about the systems we go through."

* * *

_Tully working on the language manuals. Tully pretending not to be able to talk to the kif._

Dump. An enormous blue star, a long way off. Quickly eating; brushing off dead skin.

"Captain, the knnn's shearing off, he's jumped."

Jumping again. 

_Tully, being helped out of a can of fish_.

Dump. A busy system "Priority! We're running across the shipping lanes, we have to broadcast something."

"Send from my channel 3, the knnn signal"

Suddenly everyone was nearly thrown out of their seats; kept in only by their restraints; as thrusters fired.

"Talk to me!"

"Priority, we just missed an incoming stsho freighter. By meters."

"That's it, Hallan are we on course for that last jump?"

He poked frantically at his boards, "We can do it, just."

"Good. Jumping before we hit something."

_Tully explaining how humanity has three Compacts…_

* * *

Knnn space; not something any hani had seen before. This was a quiet system, a station around the largest gas giant and half a dozen ships flitting around it, but the navigation instructions directed them to a red rocky planet in the inner system.

In orbit around the planet a ship of a design at once familiar and strange to Hilfy, with minimal illumination. The _Legacy_ was nearly in docking range before it broadcast.

"Unknown vessel, this is Mazianni ship _Corinthian_ , requesting any help you are able to provide".


End file.
